A Tense Day Off
by The AnimatedGamer
Summary: Gohan, Videl and Pan are out to enjoy a nice time out, but low and behold, Piccolo has other plans for Gohan that day and it leads to a couple of pretty unexpected outcomes. Part of an art-trade with cc6512.


**A Tense Day Off**

In the clearing of a lush green forest, a family of three could be seen relaxing on a large spread out blanket, coupled with a large spread of food.

"Today's a really nice day, isn't it?" said a misty eyed Videl.

Her question was met with the giggles of an adorably bouncing baby.

"Yeah, and I think Pan agrees," Gohan replied, picking Pan up.

"This was a great idea Gohan, coming out for a picnic like this." said Videl.

"Heh. Living in the city has it's perks, but it feels like it's been a while since we could really just enjoy the outdoors like this." said Gohan.

"I'll say."

"Although...to be completely honest, there's another reason I suggested this trip, and this area," Gohan said in a lowered tone.

"What reason is that?" asked Videl.

Gohan paused as a shadow suddenly flew over their heads causing Videl to quickly look upwards.

"What was that?"

Looking upwards, Gohan smirked. 'He's here.'

Videl and Pan followed Gohan's gaze and gasped in excitement.

"Piccolo!"

Contrary to everyone's pleasant reaction, Piccolo looked rather displeased. Desending from the sky above, Piccolo landed in front of Gohan, his arms crossed and his eyes harshly narrowed.

"Hello Piccolo." Gohan greeted.

"Pikoyo!" cried Pan.

Piccolo's harsh expression notably softened when he laid eyes on the excited girl. Still,he kept his face as stoic as ever as he spoke to Gohan

"You know why I'm here, don't you Gohan?" Piccolo sternly asked.

Gohan nodded. "Don't worry, I didn't forget," he assured him.

"Then would you mind telling me why you three are out here having a picnic when you were supposed to meet me in the mountains an hour ago!?" Piccolo boomed.

Videl raised an eyebrow. "Gohan, what's he talking about?" she asked.

Gohan chuckled. "I was supposed to meet Piccolo for a training session today, but since I also have the day off from work, I wanted to do _something_ special with you and Pan today. I figured a picnic would be the best way to kill two birds with one stone. I get to spend time with you two and since we're already outside," Gohan turned to Piccolo. "We can start training whenever you give the word. That's why I chose this spot in particular. After all, this is the place where you trained me the first time."

"For real!" Videl exclaimed.

Piccolo was slightly taken aback by Gohan's explanation, but couldn't help but give a small grin. "Hmph. I don't know why I was even worried."

Piccolo quickly turned his attention to Videl. "Sorry to interrupt your family bonding time, but I'll be borrowing him for a bit." he proclaimed.

Videl gave Piccolo a warm smile. "It's no problem, as long as we get to watch."

Piccolo raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure that's a good idea? Fair warning, our training sessions can get messy...to put it lightly."

"If it's just training, then it shouldn't be a problem right?" Videl replied. "Besides, it's been too long since I last got a chance to see Gohan fight so this should be a pretty fun throwback."

"...Well..." Gohan grinned putting his arm behind his head.

"Now I get it. It's not just about training this time, is it?" Piccolo asked.

"What do you...?"

"You just want to show off in front of your family don't you?" Piccolo teased.

"N-no! That's not it at all!"

The others laughed as Gohan desperately tried to save face.

[A short while later]

"Masenko-HA!"

"Destructive Wave!"

The sky ignited as Gohan, clad in his green tracksuit, and Piccolo fired off their attacks. Their fierce training session was long underway and neither one of them was letting up.

"Not bad kid. A couple more months and you MIGHT be as strong as you were when we fought Nappa and Vegeta," Piccolo taunted.

"Real funny Piccolo, but I'm not finished yet!" Gohan replied.

Gohan and Piccolo both took their respective stances in midair ready to start their next round.

The stood still in midair before dashing at each other at blinding speeds. The sky practically shook as their rapid fire attacks collided with each other creating shockwaves. The two combatants collided in the air and forced their forearms against each other before pushing each other back, resetting their bout.

Back on ground level, Videl had her attention glued to the fight with Pan giggling and clapping beside her.

'Gohan's still as intense as ever,' Videl thought. 'Still...I wonder what it was that made him want to start fighting again. I wonder if his absence from that Universal Tournament has something to do with it.'

While Videl was watching the battle intently, while also letting her mind wander, Pan's attention was elsewhere as a big, bright blue butterfly landed on the cheerful baby's face.

When Pan made a reach to grab it, the insect fluttered away. Wanting to play with the flying bug more, Pan began to float in the air herself and chase after it.

Meanwhile, back in the air, Piccolo and Gohan's battle seemed to be evenly matched as they found themselves at a stalemate yet again.

"So you really haven't lost your drive," Piccolo praised.

"You'd better believe it. Like I said, I'm just getting started!" On that note, Gohan promptly transformed into a Super Saiyan and went on to attack Piccolo again.

"Ohhhh! Look Pan, your Daddy's about to get serious!" Videl exclaimed. Surprisingly, she was met with silence.

"Pan? Pan?" When she didn't receive any kind of reaction, Videl turned to the side to see that Pan was gone.

"Kyaaaaa!"

The two combatants paused at the sound of Videl's shriek and Gohan quickly rushed over.

"Videl, what's wrong?"

"Pan's gone!"

"What!?"

"Tsk. Unbelievable," groaned Piccolo.

"Okay, let's stay calm, she can't have gotten far," Gohan stated. "Videl, search by the stream, I'll head into the forest. Piccolo, see if you can find her from the sky."

Piccolo and Videl both nodded their approval.

"Okay!"

Videl and Gohan flew off in opposite directions, leaving Piccolo alone for the moment. Ascending into the air, Piccolo crossed his legs in a meditative position.

'That kid's energy is to low to feel out, so it looks I'll have to rely on my natural senses here.'

Piccolo closed his eyes and started to put his ears to work. For the moment, he could hear nearly everything going on in the area, from the water rushing from a nearby stream, to a family of animals miles away.

[Meanwhile]

Pan was continuously flying after the butterfly, taking swipes at it regularly. The little blue bug eventually found it's way to the inside of a small hole in a nearby tree.

When she hovered to the tree herself, Pan tried to reach into the hole to find the butterfly again, but despite being small herself, she was still too big to fit her hand in the hole. Pan gave a dejected whine that her target escaped.

Her expression soon perked up as she looked up to see a family of pteradactyls flying overhead. Giggling, the excitable child quickly zipped after the flying dinosaurs.

[Back With Piccolo]

Focusing his hearing, Piccolo managed to pick up what sounded like light laughter.

'Bingo!'

Flaring his aura, Piccolo blasted off towards the sound in a rush. As he hurriedly flew towards the sound, he sent a telepathic message to Videl and Gohan.

 _"Gohan! Videl! I think I know where Pan is!"_

 _"Really!? Where!?"_ Videl exclaimed.

 _"Both of you just focus on my energy and head to my position,"_ Piccolo replied.

A short moment later, Piccolo found himself at a plateau with a large nest on top.

'Isn't that a dinosaur's nest?' Piccolo thought. He received his answer as the sound of screeching filled the air. Turning toward the source, Piccolo looked to see the pteradactyl family approaching, and Pan could be seen riding on the back of one of the babies.

Piccolo let out a mix between a sigh and a chuckle. 'That kid...is definitely her father's daughter,' Piccolo mused.

Not wanting to alarm the dinosaurs, for fear they might accidently hurt Pan (saiyan or not she's still just a baby), Piccolo opted to keep his distance. Reaching out his hand, Piccolo extended his arm and swiftly grabbed Pan before slowly reeling his arm back in.

"Pikoyo!"

Piccolo sighed. "Nobody can take their eyes off you for a second, can they?"

As Piccolo descended, cradling Pan in his arms, Gohan and Videl finally appeared from the distance.

'It's about time.'

They all touched ground simultaneously, and Videl instantly rushed to Piccolo and took Pan in her arms.

"Mama!"

"Oh, I'm so glad you're okay," sighed Videl.

"Thanks for finding her Piccolo," added Gohan.

"Hmph. I practically had to drill this into your parents' heads that one time; You should NEVER take your eyes off of Pan, no matter what!" Piccolo snapped.

"Tell me something I don't know," Videl snarked. "Guess if I ever wanna see you guys train again," she turned back to Pan, "YOU have to go to your grandparents' house."

As Pan and Gohan chuckled, Piccolo broke the laughter. "While this wasn't part of the training I had planned for you today, I'd say this little excursion is just enough call for a break." He grinned "After all, don't you three have a picnic to get back to?"

As Gohan and the girls nodded, the moment was halted by the sound of loud thumping approaching. The group turned to see a large orange dinosaur with spikes coming out of the side of it's head stomping towards them.

"Hehey, look who it is," Gohan stated. "Long time no see."

"Gohan, you know this dinosaur?" Videl asked taking a cautious step backwards.

"Yeah, we go WAY back," Gohan replied.

"That's putting it lightly." commented Piccolo.

The dinosaur let out a fierce roar as it glared harshly at the group.

"Uh...Gohan. Maybe it's just me, but I think your friend looks upset," Videl noted.

"I...didn't say we were friends," Gohan shakily replied.

"What!?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure the big guy here hates me," said Gohan.

"Hates you? For what?"

"I...may have cut off his tail...like, a LOT of times," Gohan replied.

"Plus there's also all the times you smashed rocks into his head," Piccolo added.

"Hey, I never did anything like that. He's the one who slammed into all the plateaus," Gohan replied.

"Uhhh boys...I think we should bolt!" exclaimed a now alarmed Videl.

The dinosaur let out another ferocious roar before it rushed towards the group. Videl instantly ascended into the sky and waited for Gohan and Piccolo to follow suit. Surprisngly (though not really), neither one of them moved an inch.

"Gohan! Piccolo! Come on!"

"You go on ahead! We'll catch up with you two soon!" Gohan called back.

Videl almost hesitated, but ultimately, she gave a nodded and started flying back to their picnic site.

"I guess we won't get to see Daddy and Uncle Piccolo train together after all," said Videl.

"Papa! Papa!" Pan giggled.

Videl flashed the young girl her own smile and continued on her flight.

Gohan chuckled. "Well, looks like it'll be a while before we get to take that break after all."

"You sure you wanna do this? We can very easily just put him down," Piccolo suggested.

"Maybe a bit later, after I finish my 'jog'."

"Hmmph. To each his own." Piccolo crossed his arms and ascended into the sky, aiming to watch from the best angle.

"Welp, it's been a while since we've done this big guy, so let's get started!"

Gohan took a runner's stance and began sprinting away from the giant reptile. The vengeful beast picked up it's own pace and began chasing after Gohan, snapping at him with his massive jaws. At each attempt however, Gohan would leap away from the Dinosaur's attacks with great speed and agility.

"Heh, looks like I haven't lost a step after all!"

Gohan continued to dash flip and slide through the area avoiding the dinosaur's attack until he remembered something Piccolo had said earlier.

 _("You just want to show off in front of your family don't you?")_

"Well Piccolo, looks like you were right," he said to himself.

With a cocky grin, Gohan let his aura explode and flew straight ahead at full speed, the dinosaur still following

[With Videl and Pan]

The flight back to the picnic area had been a relatively short one. As soon as Videl touched down, she let out a breath and set Pan down.

"This time young lady, you're not leaving my sight," Videl 'scolded'. As Pan laughed, the ground began to rumble.

"What now?" Videl asked.

As if to answer her question, Videl was met with a fierce burst of air from out of seemingly nowhere. As Videl crouched down to shield Pan from the strong wind, Gohan appeared out of the forest and skidded to a halt right in front of Videl and Pan.

"Gohan!? What's going on!?" exclaimed a startled Videl.

"Wait for it..." Gohan stated.

Gohan dropped into a fighting stance as the rumbles began to increase in intensity. Close to a minute passed before the dinosaur burst from the forest toppling over a number of trees.

While Videl let out a shocked gasp, Gohan sprang into action immediately. With a harsh grunt, Gohan leapt into the air. As he began his descent, he wound up and threw a fierce punch at the dinosaur right on the crown of it's head.

The large reptile immediately froze in place and fell down losing consciousness nigh instantaneously. As the creature fell down, Gohan also landed while striking a victorious pose.

As Gohan confidently bowed, Videl and Pan both started to laugh and lightly applaud Gohan's win over his 'old adversary' just in time for Piccolo to show up and hover just beside them.

"Hmph, just like old times, eh kid?" Piccolo grinned.

"Mmmm...not yet," Gohan hummed.

Walking behind the unconscious dinosaur, Gohan poured energy into his hands and formed a 'Kienzan' disc. With a grunt, he brought the disc down on the dinosaur's tail, slicing it off yet again (and it had taken SO long to grow back too).

Grabbing the large slice of meat, Gohan said, "NOW it feels like old times."

"Come on, we still have time to grill this thing up before we can start training again."

"Umm...don't you think we should probably get away from him?" Videl said pointing to the dinosaur. "I doubt he'll be too happy to see you eating his tail when he wakes up."

"Good point. We need to get some firewood anyway," Gohan agreed.

Taking a couple of minutes to capsulize all their equipment, the family quickly took to the skies.

"So, once we find a new spot, what's next?" Videl asked.

"Simple, we enjoy the rest of our picnic," Gohan replied.

"And once you're rested up, I'll put you back through the ringer!" Piccolo added.

"We'll see about that Piccolo!"

Gohan flared his aura and jetted off ahead of the pack, quickly followed by Piccolo.

"H-Hey!" Videl exclaimed.

"Haaaa!"

Pan quickly wriggled out of her mother's arms and jetted after her father and Piccolo.

"Pan...not you too."

Bringing up the rear, Videl followed the others into the afternoon sun.

 _ **(A/N: This one-shot is my half of an art trade with cc6512 on Tumblr who did the cover art for my Dragon Ball/Ranma 1/2 crossover, 'My Life's Stranger Than Yours)**_


End file.
